


Changing Of The Seasons

by lullatone



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Teacher au!, i want to do more with this, this may become a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 20:04:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7120522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lullatone/pseuds/lullatone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"If Rafael Barba had to pick a list of his least favorite places in the world, high school was definitely in his top ten."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Changing Of The Seasons

If Rafael Barba had to pick a list of his least favorite places in the world, high school was definitely in his top ten.

The sound of his shoes squeaking against the cold linoleum hallway along with the strong chemical smell of cleaners only added to his anxiety of being back in a high school building. High school had been a minefield of anxiety for him. Between not being particularly well liked and his already quiet demeanor, he didn’t have many fond memories of pep rallies or school dances. In fact as far as Rafael could remember, his best memory was graduating as Salutatorian right behind Rita Calhoun (whom he still _may_ hold a grudge against to this very day).  Yet, here he was in Byram Hills High School in upstate New York on a chilly October afternoon at seven A.M., desperately trying to find the principal’s office.

Olivia had called Rafael about a month ago with the news that she was looking for a long term substitute for her 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year Spanish students.  The regular instructor Melinda Warner was heading into her 8th month of pregnancy and would be out soon on maternity leave.

“ _Now I know it would be a bit of a move Rafael but-“_

_“A bit? Liv, I live in Manhattan. Upstate New York is a whole different ball game.”_

_“I know I know but isn’t it time you got out of the city for a bit? This is a long term position and you won’t be searching for a job like you have been for the last few months. And besides, it’ll be good for you.”_

_“Good for me?”_

_“Oh absolutely. Get an apartment by me and Tucker so you can come visit Noah whenever you want. And I think the fresh air will do you some good.”_

_“….I’ll do it for Noah.”_

So, for the sake of his Godson (and himself and his well-being),  Rafael had taken the position as fast as he could, ditching his place in Manhattan for a small apartment in a complex ten minutes away from the school.  After months of job searching and no luck, Olivia’s offer was the best thing he had gotten in months. The two had gone to college together and after Olivia moved out to the suburbs with Tucker after they adopted Noah, she had started job hunting. With her impressive credentials from her time spent teaching in Manhattan and her infectious personality, she quickly got a job as head principal at Byram Hills High School in Armonk and she had no plans of coming back to the city anytime soon.

With all that in mind, Rafael had packed up his things and headed upstate with the promise of fresh air, a job, and hopefully some change that his life desperately needed.

 

Olivia’s office door was wide open when Rafael had finally found it. For a relatively small school, he found himself at a dead end twice and another time he turned back up at the front doors he came in. Olivia sat at her desk, her feet propped up on the edge as she scrolled through her laptop that was perched on her thighs, and eyes set into a concentrating gaze behind her glasses. Rafael knocked on the door frame lightly, alerting her to his presence.

It was the true when they were in college and it held true even know that Olivia’s smile could light up a room. She dropped her feet to the floor after putting her computer back into its proper place on her desk.

“I knew you’d be here.” Rafael scoffed jokingly as Olivia came around the desk and met him in a tight hug.

“Liv, I saw you yesterday. Did you think I’d bail that fast?”

“You’re a slick one Rafael, I never truly know with you.”

 

After a quick talk in Olivia’s office, the two wandered out to make their way to Rafael’s new room. He made a mental note of landmarks as they walked, content on not getting lost the second time around. From Olivia’s office it was down the hall, past the boy’s bathroom, make a right at the staircase….

The room was a fair enough size, with his desk to the right of the doorway with a blackboard right behind it. In front of the desk was twenty sets of desks, just enough for each one of his classes.  The walls of the room however were exceptionally decorated. There were posters containing different Spanish phrases, informational posters made by students, and the back of the room held a corkboard covered in photos. Upon closer examination Rafael realized it was made up of personal photos of Melinda and her students.

One was a snapshot of some students inspecting the cathedrals of Spain’s Gothic Quarter.

Another was Melinda in front of the Aqueduct of Segovia, gesturing as if a student captured the shot of her mid-lecture.

There were dozens more like those, all of a smiling Melinda and her students in various striking locations of Spain. Rafael rubbed the back of his neck, giving out a shaky exhale.

“Oh my god they adore her don’t they?”

“Mhhm. She takes her 3rd year seniors on a trip to Spain in the springtime. She’s taken the trip dozens of times so she’s well versed in the history.” Rafael spun around to face Olivia who was currently putting folders of files into his desk drawers, his panicked look not going missed. She stopped herself for a moment, taking her glasses off and giving him her best ‘ _I know that look and you need to stop and relax’_ face. “Raf, don’t worry. They’ll love you.”

“How can you be so sure?? They’re high schoolers Liv, they’re mean and judgmental and are in the middle of hormones and college applications.” Olivia laughed as she put the rest of the papers into the Rafael’s desk, slamming the desk drawer shut as he strode through the maze of desks back to the front of the room. “Olivia don’t laugh I’m serious.” She resisted the urge to smile as her friend practically pouted at the idea of having to deal with high schoolers.

“It’s okay to be nervous. But they aren’t demons. They’re kids. And you agreed to this remember?” Rafael sighed in defeat and shrugged.

“…I did.”

“That’s what I thought.” Olivia smiled again before going on to explain the rest of Rafael’s duties before class started. The first class started at eight o’clock with a a 2nd year Spanish class, his lunch was at eleven, his roll log was to be done on the computer but there was an extra copy in his desk drawer, the students already had their textbooks and they were on chapter three, but 3rd year Spanish was already onto chapter five and-

Well Rafael doesn’t remember much of the rest.

Before he can fully process everything, Olivia has placed a kiss on his forehead and is out the door with a calm ‘see you later’, before leaving Rafael to his own thoughts and an empty classroom, while the clock on the wall slowly worked its way towards 8 A.M.

 

Somehow Rafael managed to make it to his lunch break at 11, right after his 1st year Spanish class. All his classes had gone particularly well as Olivia had told him to use the day to introduce himself and to try and get to know the kids better. 

Which wouldn’t have been terribly hard except he forgot the ‘ _e_ ’ in _‘Mr. Rafael Barba’_ when he wrote it down on the board for his first class of the day. Thankfully his back was to the students so he didn’t have to face them as they giggled while he erased the ‘ _l_ ’ on the chalkboard before adding an ‘ _el’_ back onto it.

His one victory of the morning would have to be one of the senior girls in his 3rd year class complimenting him on his tie. He had picked a purple paisley number to go with his light pink button down, and although no one could tell, his socks were the same shade of pink. The small compliment surprisingly gave him enough confidence to get through the rest of the morning, making small talk and trying to get a feel for what the kids already knew and what they didn’t quite get just yet.

By the time lunch had rolled around, he felt better about the coming months. Rafael knew he loved teaching, and after being reminded that morning that teenagers were in fact not the devils spawns, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief that he hadn’t truly realized he was holding.

After his students cleared out of the room, he grabbed his bag and decided to make his way towards the teachers’ lounge which was…somewhere.

Rafael mentally cursed himself for not remembering where it was and after a few moments of stubbornness decided to knock on the door of the room next to his. The marker next to the door read, ‘ _Mr. Munch. Room 125’,_ and Rafael knocked with the slightest trepidation.  After a moment, a voice yelled back behind the door proclaiming that it was open, prompting Rafael to open the door and enter the room.  The room was the direct opposite of his with the teacher’s desk across the room at the far wall, and the student’s backs facing the doorway.  At the blackboard behind the desk was a tall thin man with piercing eyes behind wired glasses and silvery hair that Rafael assumed was Mr. Munch who then proceeded to ask if he could help him with anything.

“Oh um, yes. Sorry to interrupt but this is my first day and I just can’t quiet remember where the faculty lounge is. I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction.”

“Take a left down the hall and get to the staircase, once you go up it’s the first room on the right. Now if you’d be so kind to leave, I’m busy teaching my students about the river Siene.” Munch narrowed his eyes at Rafael before turning back to his students, speaking hurriedly in French; whatever he had said made his students laugh and glance back at Rafael who flushed and left the room as quickly as possible.

Mr. Munch and his directions turned out to be correct, and Rafael was glad to find the solace of a student free room. The faculty lounge was on the smaller side, but it was good enough for Rafael.  The small set of chairs along with a table was pushed against the wall to make room for a small fridge, along with a sink, a microwave, and a coffepot. And _oh blessed day_ there was a loveseat sofa by the other wall. It takes almost all of Rafael’s willpower to sit down at the table to eat his lunch and to not flop down on the scrappy looking loveseat like it’s his job.

He has a whole forty five minutes until his next class so he decides to relax and take his time. He pulls out his lunch and his phone, happy to see an unread message from Carmen that he hadn’t been able to see this morning.

‘ _good luck 2day!! the apartment building still isnt the same without you. call me later!’_

If Rafael had to absolutely miss one thing about Manhattan, it was Carmen. His neighbor and best friend for the past two years had been sad to see him go, but also eagerly encouraged him to get the hell out of the city and do something new. The promise of going home tonight, having a glass of wine and talking to Carmen made Rafael wish the rest of the day could just fly bye. Knowing his luc-

The door bursting open makes Rafael practically jump out of his chair, causing him to hit his knee on the underside of the table. He groans, rubbing at the appendage when he hears a man talk behind him. His accent is thick and very clearly from Staten Island as he cheerfully talks in the doorway.

“Hey, you must be the new Spanish teacher right?? Liv told me you’d be arriving today!” Between the brash tone and Rafael’s aggravated state, he plans on saying something completely rotten that his mother would most _definitely_ not appreciate, when he turns around and basically chokes on his own tongue. 

While the man in the doorways accent might be harsh and rough, his appearance is far from it. His eyes are a deep and clear blue that stand out on his pale face, blonde hair combed back with obviously too much gel. He’s lanky and tall, but he’s got a long lean body that’s shown off by the tailored gray trousers he’s wearing and the white and black grid patterned button down shirt.

Rafael hopes he isn’t staring, because _my god_ he certainly feels like he is.

Whoever this guy is, he’s _gorgeous._

Apparently the man in the doorway has given up on waiting for Rafael to say something, because he steps into the room and holds out the hand that isn’t carrying his lunch container. The smile he sends out is blinding as he grabs Rafael’s hand.

“I’m Dominick Carisi, but everyone I know calls me Sonny. I teach the junior and senior AP math courses.” Mr. Caris- _Sonny’s_ handshake is nice and firm and Rafael once again almost forgets to answer him.

“Rafael Barba. I’m filling in for Melinda.” Sonny lets go of Rafael’s hand and pulls the chair out next to him and plops himself down, spreading out his long legs under the table. He immediately starts talking about Melinda’s absence.

“She’s due in about 2 weeks I think? Something like that. She’s having twins ya know? So they might take her in early just to monitor her. My sister, before she had my niece, had to go in early just so they could watch her and make sure everything was all a-okay.” The entire time Sonny is talking, one hand is gesturing wildly while the other is pulling various items out of his bag.  While Sonny keeps gesturing, Rafael can’t help the puzzled look that crosses his face. This man whom he barely knows is talking to him like he’s known him his whole life.

Between the students and the angry French teacher, this is the friendliest (albeit one-sided) conversation he’s had all day.  In the middle of his ramblings, Sonny stops mid-sentence, noticing Rafael’s expression. He chuckles and seems to slow himself down.

“Jeeze, I’m sorry. I’m hardly giving ya a chance to talk, my ma would have my head.”

“Oh that’s alright. I’m just not used to”, Rafael gestures to the small room, “all of this yet.”

“I understand. A transition to anywhere new can be tough.” On that note, Sonny gets up and heads over to the fridge, opening the door and leaning over to root through its contents. Rafael would’ve caught what Sonny said next, however he was too busy staring at….

He really needed to find out who tailored this man’s pants because _my god_ did they flatter him nicely.

Rafael catches the tail end of Sonny’s question, knowing that it ended along the lines of, “-everything here so far”.

“I like it well enough. I haven’t really gotten to meet too many faculty yet but the students are nice enough.”

“Oh yeah the kids are great. Helping them learn is what makes me want to get up in the morning.”  Sonny finally emerges with his prize from the fridge, a bottle of coffee creamer that he brings back over to the table before he sits down once again. “Like I always say, ‘education is our most powerful weapon’.” Rafael huffs out a laugh at that, raising an eyebrow at Sonny.

“I’m pretty sure Nelson Mandela said that.”

“Well, yeah I _know_ that, but maybe I’m just trying to impress ya.” Sonny takes a bite out of his sandwich and winks at Rafael, grinning playfully around his mouthful of bread and peanut butter. He isn’t entirely sure, but Rafael can swear that he sees Sonny’s eyes roam down the length of his body that isn’t covered by the table, before traveling back up to his face.

Rafael wonders if Sonny can see the flush that creeps up his neck and onto his cheeks because he can certainly feel it.

All at once, it becomes a little too much for Rafeal to handle on his first day and he swiftly begins to pack up his half finished lunch. As soon as he begins talking, he knows his words are coming out too hurried and sloppy but he can’t bring himself to care.

“Well _wow_ would you look at the time, I’m going to be late for my next class I think I need to leave immediately. It was very nice to meet you I hope to see you around again soon but I need to leave right now.” Rafael is glad he can’t see Sonny’s confused expression as he gathers his things in his arms and rushes out of the room, retreating into the hallway as fast as his legs can carry him.

 

The rest of Rafael’s classes go off without a hitch.

He finds that the seniors are the easiest kids to talk to, most of them open and comfortable with meeting a new teacher. A few expressed concerns about having Melinda leave so early into the semester, but Rafael did his best to ease their worries.

By the time the final bell rings, Rafael is finally able to sit down in his desk chair and becomes incredibly grateful to be off his feet. Liv told him to wait a half hour before leaving so he could gather everything he needed for the next day and have his lesson plan prepared. He reveals in the silence of the empty classroom, the only sounds coming from the hallway as the kids find their way out of the school.

The knock on his door a few minutes later comes as a complete surprise and also to his slight annoyance. He had just gotten to cultivate his plans for the Spanish 2 students and was wondering on how heavy he should hit them with homework. Rafael sighed and glanced towards the door. “Come on in.”

When Rafael hears _that_ voice for the second time in so many hours, he nearly falls out of his chair.

Before he can protest, Sonny Carisi is saying a casual, “Hello”, and barging his way into his classroom.

He looks even cuter than before and it hurts Rafael a little. Sonny is clearly on his way out; as he now has a slightly tarnished messenger bag slung over his shoulder and is wearing a dark brown leather jacket to combat the nippy New York autumn weather. He leans one shoulder against the doorframe, looking effortlessly casual as he sticks his hands in his pockets and asks Rafael how the rest of his day went.

“It went pretty great actually. I was just finishing up my plans for tomorrow. Don’t want the kids to fall behind.”  Sonny nods approvingly, as if he just finished doing the same exact thing a few minutes ago.

“Hey so, Barba I’m so-“

“Woah, wait,” Rafael turns his desk chair to face Sonny fully, pointing the pen he has in his hand questioningly at him. “ _Barba_? I have a first name you know.” Sonny takes this into consideration for a moment but then decidedly shrugs his shoulders.

“Well yeah, I _know_ that. But I’ve decided that your first name is too casual and until we know each other better, I think your last name works best.” Sonny does a once over of Rafael, the kind of look that he had done back in the teachers room that morning, and once again it makes Rafael feel  himself flush right down to his toes. “Besides, it just fits you better.”

In all honesty, Rafael has no idea what that means, but decides that two can play at that game.

After a better afternoon with his students, his usual confidence has somewhat returned and he decides to return the banter right back to Sonny. He turns back to his desk and his work, a smirk settling onto his face.

“Well since you said people who know you call you ‘Sonny’, I guess I’ll just have to call you ‘Carisi’ until we know each other better.”

Rafael can’t see, but he’s almost positive Sonny must be grinning as well.

“You said ‘until’ too. So that means I guess we’ll just have to get to know each other better.”

“You better get out of my classroom Carisi, before I kick you out.” Rafael smiled to himself again; _there_ was the Rafael that knew how to flirt and didn’t rush out of a room when a handsome guy started talking to him. He hears Sonny let out a breathy laugh from the doorway.

 _God_ , it’s a nice laugh.

“Demanding, Mr Barba. I like it. I’ll see you tomorrow. Can I expect you to join me for lunch or will you just run out of the room again?”

“Out.” Sonny laughs again as he strides out of the room, yelling behind him as he goes.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’!”

Long after Sonny’s laughter has abandoned the hallways, Rafael is still smiling at his desk, dumbstruck at the way he keeps blushing over some loudmouthed math teacher with a cute face.

He supposes though, this has to be one of the best first days of school he’s ever had.

Lunch tomorrow can’t come soon enough.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first thing I've published since over a year ago which is crazy! Thanks to spookvmulder for being awesome and inspiring this. I'd love to write more of this eventually so I can only hope that's what happens. Thanks for reading!


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